Respect For Our Seniors? Let's Put Our Money Where Our Mouths Are

Throughout our lives we've heard that as a society we have great respect for our older citizens. After all, businesses give discounts to seniors and we’ve set up great government programs to help those in need as they age. Medicare is terrific, providing insurance for those who need health care. And Social Security has helped millions and millions of Americans sustain themselves after their work years are no longer possible, or as a supplement to savings. Sure, there are problems with both of those programs. But this blog is not about those two programs, per se. It’s about looking into the future and deciding whether we want to put our money where our mouths are.

First let me be clear: the money we contribute to Social Security and Medicare through our FICA tax is NOT our money, any more so than the money we collect in taxes to spend on defending our nation. The money we contribute toward Medicare and Social Security is money used to help the older generation, our parents and grandparents. We’ve got to stop thinking as if the money taken our of our paycheck is ours.

Now let’s think about the future. The life expectancy for men is about 78 years and for women about 80. But according to the Society of Actuaries Retirement Participant tables, a 65-year old man has a 20% chance of living to 90 and a 65-year old woman a 32% chance of living that long. Furthermore, a married man and woman have almost a 20% chance that one of them will live to be 95. Think about the implications of that. With the average social security benefit being in the neighborhood of $1230/month, can our society afford those payments, particularly as we see health care costs rise? And what about the need many of those longer-living folks have for maintenance care, not medical or skilled care, just the activities of daily living. You know: eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring, etc. How can we possibly manage?

Fifty years ago or so, there were about 15 or 16 people working for every retiree. More recently, that number dropped to just over 3, including all of the immigrants. And the latest data show that in the next 20 years that number could drop to just 2 workers for every retiree! Two! And I’m not even mentioning how much longer each retiree will live or the health care they will require.

In Japan, these numbers are so much more alarming but show us what our future might look like. In Japan they anticipate that in 20 years there will be just 1 worker for each retiree, and the life expectancy in Japan is even higher than ours in the U.S. What Japan has done over the last 10 years or so is increase their revenue by raising the premium rates for employee and national pension programs like ours. They certainly put their money where their values are. It’s probably not enough but they seem to be confronting the problems.

But what about here? Are we willing to see our parents (or our own) benefits drop in relation to our needs? Will you be able to sustain yourself until you’re in your 90’s? We keep talking about our unwillingness to pass along our debt to our children. Yet we don’t seem to be willing to pay more to do so. Who do you think is going to take care of you? And out of what revenue source? Their savings?

Now all we hear about is the need to cut, cut, and cut government benefits some more. Sure, let’s cut where we can. But why is it that we are so unwilling to contribute more to social security? We’ve got to stop talking as if the money we pay is ours and start allowing the rate and the maximum amount of our annual contribution to rise. It’s the only hope we have to sustain the future.

I wrote the best-sellers, AARP Roadmap for the Rest of Your Life and The Baby Boomer’s Guide to Caring for Aging Parents plus a dozen or so other books. I’ve worked as a director of student financial aid, lobbyist, business analyst, actor, and singer/songwriter. I got my BA ...